News and Perspectives on Korean Affairs, History and Policy Issues
...Since 2007

January 10, 2008

Contingency Plans to Send Troops to North Korea?

Can you believe... "China has contingency plans to dispatch troops to North Korea should its neighbor become politically unstable." (full report) And, a published US Army article suggests that "The United States should begin creating the diplomatic conditions now to justify and support a South Korean-led occupation of North Korea [to further US interests]. It is no secret too that US military plans for the Korean peninsula include military occupation of North Korea if an outbreak of war occurs.

Whatever the purported intentions of these contingency plans are, they eerily remind of similar instances in the past when the big powers attempted to grab Korea for themselves before the others do at the turn of the 19th century by dispatching their troops to Korea with slightest pretexts. Imperial China sent in its troops as well as the Russan Empire, but it was Imperial Japan which defeated them all to claim Korea for itself. The US, via a stealthy power-sharing deal with Japan called the Taft-Katsura Agreement, gained full control of the Philippines in exchange for Japan's control over Korea.

5 comments:

I'd like to say the story is based on autohypnosis. To fancy things like this may justify brain and money as not being wasted. I just put it in my garbage bag before seeing your post accompanied by the photo that gives fun to the story.

U.S. plans to “occupy” North Korea – OPLAN 5027 in the even of war, OPLAN 5029 in the event of collapse – are actually geared toward securing WMD facilities and sites and some other military sites, while ROKA forces would actually occupy the country. I don’t think comparisons to the 19th century hold up very well.

I believe US OPLANs predate the issue of WMD facilities and they call for USM-run military government in North Korea for the initial phase following a conflict. With USM still having the wartime OPCON (operational control) of the combined US-ROK forces, that is the likely scenario that the US will follow.

Comparisons to the 19th century may be stretching a bit, yes, but I made the comparisons to illustrate big power mentality over Korea -- the thinking of the big power's own interests before the interests of the Korean people.

OPLAN 5027 does pre-date DPRK WMD but has been geared towards securing it should a North Korea attack the South. For some time the goal has been to, “reorganize the country under South Korean control.” Not a U.S. military occupation.

OPLAN 5029 does NOT pre-date DPRK WMD, but was created for in order to prepare for the collapse of North Korea, to include securing WMD, conventional weapons, dealing with refugees, etc.

In both cases (5027, 5029) it is still the ROK troops that will control North Korean territory.

OPCON deals with the warfighting, not the occupation - two different issues.

South and North Korean teams marched together in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, under one flag representing one Korea -- highlighting the Korean people's desire for reunification. This did not happen in the 2008 Olympics, suggesting challenges that remain.

Music Videos

What Readers Are Saying

In searching for informative blogs on Korea, I came across Korea Report ... and found your writing to be informative and provided good analysis.- Jeff Dexter, Foreign Policy Association's US Diplomacy blogThis is a great resource.- Victor Hsu, World Vision International

I like the articles in Korea Report very much. I think these messages and articles are missing in the mainstream media.- Kuhn Seo, National Association of Korean Americans

Congratulations! Korea Report is performing a very valuable service for all who love Korea and want to stay in touch.- Pharis Harvey, former director of the North American Coalition for Human Rights in Korea

Korea Report is not only my best source of Korea news and thoughtful commentary, through its links it provides easy access to other resources, organizations and projects. Everyone interested in Korea should know about this blog, especially our policymakers.-Dorothy Ogle, National Committee for Peace in Korea

My congratulations for the opening of this fantastic blog. Very nice! Perhaps this blog will come out best among blogs concerned with Korea.- Anonymous

Long-closed Military Demarcation Line in the DMZ that divides Korea is now open for inter-Korea traffic and exchanges, but the exchanges have slowed down since 2008.

Thank you for visiting this site, please visit again. Comments to the postings, suggestions and guest submissions are welcomed. If you prefer to send comments to the editor of this site directly, please send to KoreaReport@gmail.com